Taiwan blue magpie explained

The Taiwan blue magpie[1] (Urocissa caerulea), also called the Taiwan magpie, Formosan blue magpie, or the "long-tailed mountain lady" (; Taiwanese Hokkien: Tn̂g-boé soaⁿ-niû), is a bird species in the crow family. It is endemic to Taiwan.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Taiwan blue magpie was collected by Robert Swinhoe and described by John Gould.[2] Swinhoe translated the magpie's Hokkien name into English, calling it the "Long-tailed Mountain-Nymph".[3] The species is sometimes placed in the genus Cissa. It forms a superspecies with the yellow-billed blue magpie (Urocissa flavirostris) and the red-billed blue magpie (Urocissa erythroryncha). The species is monotypic.

Distribution and habitat

The Taiwan blue magpie is endemic to Taiwan. It lives in broadleaf forests at elevations of 300m-1200mm (1,000feet-3,900feetm).[4]

Description

It is 63cm-68cmcm (25inches-27inchescm) in length. The tail measures around 34cm-42cmcm (13inches-17inchescm) in length, and the wings are 20cm (10inches) long.[5] It weighs 254g260g.

The plumages of the male and female are similar. The head, neck and breast are black. The eyes are yellow, and the bill and feet are red. The rest of the plumage is mostly blue. The wings and tail feathers have white tips. The underwing-coverts are dark grey, and the flight feathers are light grey. The uppertail-coverts have black tips. The central pair of tail feathers are the longest. The other tail feathers have black bands. Chicks are greyish, with a short tail and greyish-blue eyes.[6]

Behavior

Taiwan blue magpies are not very afraid of people. They can be found near human residences in the mountains or newly cultivated lands.[7] They are gregarious and are usually found in groups of three to twelve. The birds often fly in a line, following each other. This is sometimes called "long-tailed formation".[8]

Similar to other members of the crow family, they have a raucous call which is described as a high-pitched cackling chatter, kyak-kyak-kyak-kyak. Other calls include ga-kang, ga-kang, kwee-eep and gar-suee.[9]

Food and feeding

Taiwan blue magpies are scavengers and omnivores. Their diet includes snakes, rodents, small insects, carrion, eggs and chicks of other birds, plants, fruits, and seeds. They also feed on food waste of humans. They sometimes store leftovers on the ground and cover them with leaves for future retrieval. Sometimes they store food in the leaves or branches.[10]

Breeding

The breeding season is from March to July. The Taiwan blue magpie is monogamous. Females incubate eggs while males help with nest building and feeding. Their nests are built on high branches of trees. The nest is in the shape of a bowl and is made of twigs. Usually there are 3–8 eggs in a clutch. Eggs are light green in color, with brown marks. Hatching takes 17–19 days. There are 3–7 chicks per nest. Chicks leave the nest after 21–24 days, and can start flying for short distances after a few days. Some pairs breed a second time after this. The Taiwan blue magpie has helpers at the nest, mostly juveniles from previous breeding seasons. They help to feed the chicks and defend the nest. Taiwan blue magpies have a strong nest defence behaviour, and will attack intruders until they leave.[11]

Threats

Taiwan blue magpies may be hit by cars or captured by humans. They are also killed by predators, such as the crested goshawk, white-bellied sea eagle, spot-bellied eagle owl and the Gurney's eagle.[12]

Relationship with humans

Taiwan blue magpie is the sacred bird of Taiwan aborigine Tsou, Thao, and Bunun peoples. The sacred bird is called Teofsi'za in Tsou, Fitfit in Thao, and Haipis (Isbukun group) / Kaipis in Bunun. In the common great flood myths of Taiwan Austronesian peoples, in Tsou, Thao, and Bunun sagas, the last surviving peoples escaped from the great flood to high mountain summits as the last refuge. The sacred bird Taiwan blue magpie sacrificed itself and helped the peoples to carry the last fire tinder from Yu Shan summit back to the peoples.[13] [14] (in some versions of the sagas, the sacred bird is considered to be black bulbul).[15]

Taiwan blue magpies have attacked humans to defend their nests.[16] Taiwan blue magpies are sometimes illegally captured by humans, but the number of cases of this seems to have decreased.[17]

In 2007, the Taiwan International Birding Associated held a vote to select the national bird of Taiwan. Participation was not limited to those in Taiwan, and there were over 1 million votes cast from 53 countries.[18] The Taiwan blue magpie defeated the Mikado pheasant, but the vote was not formally accepted.

In 2017 China Airlines unveiled a Taiwan blue magpie paint scheme on an Airbus A350. The aircraft was the 100th A350 produced by Airbus.[19]

The AIDC XAT-5 Blue Magpie advanced jet trainer is named after the Taiwan blue magpie.[20]

Status

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has currently assessed the species to be of least concern as it does not meet the criteria to be vulnerable. The population trend is suspected to be stable. Due to its endemism, however, the Taiwan blue magpie has been listed as other conservation-deserving wildlife [21] and protected by Taiwan's Wildlife Conservation Act .

There is a small population of red-billed blue magpies that has been introduced to Wuling Farm in Taichung County (now part of Taichung City). In 2007, three hybrid chicks were found in a nest in Taichung, with red-billed and Taiwan magpie parents tending them. This caused some concern to conservationists, given the decline of the Taiwan hwamei due to the invasion of the Chinese hwamei. However, the Endemic Species Research Institute of Taiwan has been working to control red-billed magpie populations by capturing individual birds and relocating their nests.[22]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gill, F. D Donsker. Crows, mudnesters & birds-of-paradise. IOC World Bird List (version 6.3). 18 August 2016. 2016.
  2. Gould. John. Descriptions of Sixteen New Species of Birds from the Island of Formosa, collected by Robert Swinhoe, Esq., Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at Formosa. 1862. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1862. 282.
  3. Swinhoe. Robert. The Ornithology of Formosa, or Taiwan. October 1863. Ibis. 5. 4. 384–386. British Ornithologists' Union. 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1863.tb05739.x.
  4. Web site: Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea). HBW Alive. 15 August 2016.
  5. Book: Madge. Steve. Crows and Jays. 2010. A&C Black. 978-1-40-813169-5. 103–104.
  6. Web site: Urocissa caerulea Gould, 1863. eol.taibif.tw. 11 August 2016. zh.
  7. Web site: 長尾山娘. The Society of Wilderness. 23 August 2016. zh.
  8. Web site: Formosan Magpie. Birding in Taiwan. Taiwan International Birding Association. 11 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20131014160128/http://www.birdingintaiwan.com/Birdsintwn/formosan_blue_magpie.htm. 14 October 2013. dead.
  9. Book: MacKinnon. John. Phillips. Karen. A Field Guide to the Birds of China. 2000. Oxford University Press. Oxford. registration. 978-0-19-854940-6. 264.
  10. http://www.ymsnp.gov.tw/index.php?option=com_youvideo&view=vdetail&id=112&Itemid=206 台灣藍鵲的故事-食性 (in Chinese)
  11. Web site: Hsu. Ching Y.. Severinghaus. L. Liu. zh:陽明山國家公園內 台灣藍鵲合作生殖之研究. Cooperative Breeding of Formosan Blue Magpie in Yang-Ming Shan National Park. http://eip.ymsnp.gov.tw/UD/library/A0047%E9%99%BD%E6%98%8E%E5%B1%B1%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%B6%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%E5%85%A7%E5%8F%B0%E7%81%A3%E8%97%8D%E9%B5%B2%E5%90%88%E4%BD%9C%E7%94%9F%E6%AE%96%E4%B9%8B%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6.pdf. ymsnp.gov.tw. 12 August 2016. zh.
  12. Web site: Hsu. Ching-Yen. 保育專題—台灣藍鵲. 林務局 自然保育網. 27 August 2016. PDF. zh.
  13. News: https://www.mdnkids.com/news/?Serial_NO=107276 . zh:Keyword 鄒族神鳥:臺灣藍鵲 . Keyword Tsou Sacred Bird: Taiwan Blue Magpie . zh:國語時報 . zh-TW . 2018-05-05 . 2018-06-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180505091412/http://www.mdnkids.com/news/?Serial_NO=107276 . 2018-05-05 .
  14. Book: [{{lang|zh-TW|簡史朗}}] . zh:逐鹿水沙連: 南投縣邵族口傳文學集 . Nov 2015 . zh,ssf . [{{lang|zh-TW|南投縣文化局}}] . Nantou, Taiwan . 9789860464986 . jian_2015.
  15. Book: Kano Tadao [{{lang|ja|鹿野忠雄}}] . Yang Nan-jun .

    zh:楊南郡

    . zh:山、雲與蕃人 . And Mountains, and Clouds, and Savages . zh-TW . Feb 2000 . original in Aug 1941 . [{{lang|zh-TW|玉山社}}] . Taipei . 957-8246-33-1 . Chinese translation 1st . kano_1941.
  16. News: 邱惠恩. 台灣藍鵲警戒心高 是驅離、非攻擊. 25 August 2016. 台灣醒報. 29 May 2014. Taipei. zh.
  17. News: . Formosan Blue Magpie conservation efforts bear fruit. The China Post. 21 August 2016. 3 January 2008. Taipei, Taiwan.
  18. Web site: Taiwan National Bird Vote Results. Birding In Taiwan. Taiwan International Birding Association. 9 August 2016.
  19. Web site: Bright . Craig . China Airlines unveils second avian-themed A350 livery . businesstraveller.com . Business Traveler . 11 May 2019.
  20. Web site: J.R. Wu and Michael Perry . Damon Lin . Taiwan to build 66 jet trainer aircraft by 2026 to bolster defenses . reuters.com . Reuters . 9 May 2019.
  21. Web site: 保育類野生動物名錄修正規定. 林務局 自然保育網. 14 August 2016. pdf.
  22. Web site: Blue Crisis. Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior, R.O.C.(Taiwan). 13 August 2016.